Day 4 (The Ride Home)
((CHAPTER 3: THE RIDE HOME))
There was silence for a time, as Alyssa calmed down. The smooth cadence of the road helped in that, and she was suddenly acutely envious of Jacob's seeming ability to shed all his troubles while he was driving. The thought was nonsense, though, so she discarded it. Jacob had seemed as troubled as she felt on their walk from the house (it had felt less like a walk and more like a retreat, regardless of how victorious they'd been). It wasn't his fault that he was once again calm and composed behind the wheel. Still, something had to be said.
“Tell me about them.” her voice nearly cracked, and she restrained herself from reviewing the events earlier that day. She had to know her enemy, though.
There was a pause. Jacob had, in the past, ignored her questions. This was because the questions were usually of the form 'where are we headed today' and 'what's the job', which she'd since learn he'd answer whenever he felt like it. Important questions, like hers, got answers. Besides, she hadn't phrased it as a question.
“They're the Sightless.” he repeated. “You can imagine how they got that name.”
They didn't seem to be blind to her, pinhole eyesockets or not. That thing had dodged her and Jacob, and certainly knew where they were and what they were up to.
As though in answer to her question, Jacob continued. “You heard him babbling about the Voice of the Unknown, right? They claim to hear it all the time. They don't sleep, they don't eat, and if you tested them I bet you'd find that they couldn't actually hear, either. Everything they need, this Voice of theirs gives them. It's where they get their direction from.
“And the armies of the Unknowable?” she felt stupid even saying it, as though repeating the ravings of the madman would render her the same way.
“Harpies.” Jacob replied. “And other things. The harpies don't really think on their own, but they can be directed. The Sightless, though they hear the Voice, can be counted among the army. There's also actual soldiers, but luckily for us they're pretty rare.”
“What was he doing there?” she whispered. She was almost more disturbed by Jacob's willingness to give her so much information than by the situation itself, now that it was safely behind them.
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There was silence for a time, as Alyssa calmed down. The smooth cadence of the road helped in that, and she was suddenly acutely envious of Jacob's seeming ability to shed all his troubles while he was driving. The thought was nonsense, though, so she discarded it. Jacob had seemed as troubled as she felt on their walk from the house (it had felt less like a walk and more like a retreat, regardless of how victorious they'd been). It wasn't his fault that he was once again calm and composed behind the wheel. Still, something had to be said.
“Tell me about them.” her voice nearly cracked, and she restrained herself from reviewing the events earlier that day. She had to know her enemy, though.
There was a pause. Jacob had, in the past, ignored her questions. This was because the questions were usually of the form 'where are we headed today' and 'what's the job', which she'd since learn he'd answer whenever he felt like it. Important questions, like hers, got answers. Besides, she hadn't phrased it as a question.
“They're the Sightless.” he repeated. “You can imagine how they got that name.”
They didn't seem to be blind to her, pinhole eyesockets or not. That thing had dodged her and Jacob, and certainly knew where they were and what they were up to.
As though in answer to her question, Jacob continued. “You heard him babbling about the Voice of the Unknown, right? They claim to hear it all the time. They don't sleep, they don't eat, and if you tested them I bet you'd find that they couldn't actually hear, either. Everything they need, this Voice of theirs gives them. It's where they get their direction from.
“And the armies of the Unknowable?” she felt stupid even saying it, as though repeating the ravings of the madman would render her the same way.
“Harpies.” Jacob replied. “And other things. The harpies don't really think on their own, but they can be directed. The Sightless, though they hear the Voice, can be counted among the army. There's also actual soldiers, but luckily for us they're pretty rare.”
“What was he doing there?” she whispered. She was almost more disturbed by Jacob's willingness to give her so much information than by the situation itself, now that it was safely behind them.
Previous-Next
posted by Roger Ostrander at 11:59 PM
1 Comments:
Sorry this is late - I've got some sort of dizzifying problem, and the medicine has dizziness as one of its side effects. Yes, it's that brilliant. So writing will be slow while I make the most of my lucid periods.
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